Humidor Temp solution questions

[n0Odle]

Hey everyone! It’s been awhile since I last logged in. I fell out of being a cigar aficionado a year ago but I'm picking it back up full speed and have a question on where and how to store my 50count desktop humidor to keep the temps at an appropriate level. (Yes, the stick has been applied to the dead horse). (TLDR is at the bottom)
I live in South Texas, so with summer rolling around, my temps are climbing inside the humidor when I am not home. During the day I have my AC at 80 because no one is home.
Currently I store my humidor under the counter in my kitchen, so roughly ambient temps under there is ~76 - ~79 ish…. Fahrenheit. I didn’t want to try under the bathroom sink due to possible extra environment humidity. I do not have a basement.. Basically under the counter in the kitchen is about the coolest place I can think of in the house.

– Anyways here is my solution I was thinking of doing and wanted to get feedback from the cigar experts.
I’ve seen threads about wineadors and coolidors but I don’t have nearly enough cigars to do this nor the resources, at the moment, to fork up the $ to purchases multiple boxes of cigars, which is why I wanted to stick with my 50ct for now...
So looking at the coolidor threads gave me a possible and hopefully, great Idea. For during the day, I want to stick the whole 50ct humidor inside a cooler AND I want to put an icepack that is inside a ziplock with a towel wrapped around it, inside the cooler next to the humidor.
My question is – would this be a good idea or is this a horrible idea? I figure with the ziplock bag and towel, the icepack’s condensation wouldn’t cause any extra humidity so my humidor’s exterior wouldn’t be damaged. Remember the ice pack would not go inside the humidor, it would just be near it, inside the cooler.

TLDR :
I want to put the whole 50ct humidor inside a cooler sitting next to an icepack that is inside a ziplock and a towel wrapped around it, both inside the cooler.
Thoughts?

I know this may seem like one of the dumbest post you’ve seen but I am somewhat a newbie =P and still learning!

Any other suggestions or thoughts would be very much appreciated... Thank you in advance!

[T.G]

Not really necessary. Cigars endure far worse temps for far longer when they are locked in shipping containers in transit to the US and then sitting at customs waiting to be cleared.

[bobarian]

The only reason to manage temperature is to minimize the possibility of beetle outbreaks. Cigars themselves are rolled in countries where the average temperature is much higher than 80degrees. The best solution is to freeze your cigars. Just put them in a ziplock bag and in the freezer for at least 72 hours. Remember to freeze any new cigars you get and you should have no problems. There is an entire thread dedicated to freezing.

[n0Odle]

Originally Posted by bobarian

The only reason to manage temperature is to minimize the possibility of beetle outbreaks. Cigars themselves are rolled in countries where the average temperature is much higher than 80degrees. The best solution is to freeze your cigars. Just put them in a ziplock bag and in the freezer for at least 72 hours. Remember to freeze any new cigars you get and you should have no problems. There is an entire thread dedicated to freezing.

Will freezing mess with the cigar's oil or taste?

[Wharf Rat]

First, I agree with Bobarian.

If you insist on trying this, consider: Let's say you start with air in the cooler at your room's humidity. As you cool it, the relative humidity will increase, so the humidification control in your humidor will be challenged to keep up. So, you may be controlling the humidor's temperature at the expense of the humidity.

I think it would be better to just put the humidor in the cooler without the ice. This will slow down how quickly the temperature and humidity change.

[Sweet_Leaf_PDX]

If there is no danger of cigar beetles hatching then no need to worry if your cigars are at an ambient temperature around 80 degrees for a while.

I would just put your humidor in the coolest place you can think of in your house. Basement, interior closet, etc...

[T.G]

Originally Posted by n0Odle

Will freezing mess with the cigar's oil or taste?

It's never been conclusively proven that it changes anything. Some people claim a change in taste, yet I've seen blind taste tests where no one, including some who claim it does cause changes, was able to actually determine with any certainty which cigars had been frozen and which hadn't.

Also, bear in mind that it's likely that the cigars have already been frozen once as many, but not all, manufacturers along with a couple of vendors, freeze their cigars before they ship them. Now, this is not a substitute for doing it yourself because that freezing only takes care of the possibility of beetles up to that point. Just about every vendor has common storage so they are mixing treated cigars and non-treated ones, which in the event of an outbreak from the non-treated ones, any cigar in the warehouse has the potential to be re-infected.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by Sweet_Leaf_PDX

If there is no danger of cigar beetles hatching then no need to worry if your cigars are at an ambient temperature around 80 degrees for a while.

I would just put your humidor in the coolest place you can think of in your house. Basement, interior closet, etc...

There is always a chance of infection. Even freezing does not guarantee that beetles will not find your cigars at some point. Tobacco beetles eat many things, tobacco being only one.

[n0Odle]

So the only thing I would worry about is cigar beetles if the temps get above 80? I thought the humidity has to be at a certain point, as well, in order for the beetles to hatch? Like 73rh and 80 degrees?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by n0Odle

So the only thing I would worry about is cigar beetles if the temps get above 80? I thought the humidity has to be at a certain point, as well, in order for the beetles to hatch? Like 73rh and 80 degrees?

Beetle eggs can successfully incubate at much lower RH, like 50ish iirc.